Posted on 03/12/2004 7:56:45 AM PST by jtminton
Bloodthirsty.
That is the only way to describe what is going on in McAlester, Okla., where Terry Lynn Nichols is standing trial on state charges stemming from the 1995 bombing that killed 168 people.
Believe me, I understand the magnitude of the crime and its effect on individuals, a city and an entire country.
I have been to the site where a federal building once stood and imagined the impact of the massive bomb that destroyed it -- killing all those people, wounding so many others, shattering the lives of those who knew and loved them and permanently scarring the heart of the nation.
On that now-hallowed ground I have tearfully gazed upon the 168 chairs -- part of a national memorial -- that remain a haunting reminder of that tragic April morning.
Those responsible should be punished.
Three of those proven to have been responsible have been punished.
Timothy McVeigh, the man who carried out the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, was tried in federal court on charges of killing eight federal agents in the blast.
He was convicted, and on June 11, 2001, he was executed for the crime.
Michael Fortier, who knew about the plot and later cooperated with the government as a witness, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for concealing his knowledge of the plan to blow up the building.
And Nichols was convicted in 1997 for his part in the conspiracy and was sentenced to life without parole.
That life sentence wasn't good enough for some people in Oklahoma, and because McVeigh's death sentence technically was for killing only eight of the 168 people (including 19 children), they wanted retribution in blood for the other 160 who perished.
So a district attorney more interested in his political career than justice is now spending money, energy and collective emotion trying Nichols again with the main objective of putting him to death.
For the record, I am and always have been against the death penalty.
Even for Nichols. And, yes, even for McVeigh.
It is clear that aside from the political ambition in this case, the only reason we're seeing another trial for Nichols is so that the state can do what the federal government did not do: KILL HIM!
That is more than sickening.
As a state prosecutor gets his glorification and a few members of victims' families get their revenge -- I mean "closure" -- the rest of Oklahoma City, the state of Oklahoma, the country and those victims and family members who already have found some peace must suffer another traumatic ordeal.
God forbid!
A six-man, six-woman jury has been seated for the trial.
The prosecution will lay out its case by replaying that chapter of our past, bringing out all the bloody photos again and recounting the painful stories of survivors and victims' families.
If this were really about justice, I might understand. If it were really about bringing closure to hurting people, I might have some sympathy.
But this is about revenge and ego and political aspirations.
I certainly don't have any respect for Nichols, and I loathe what he did. Neither do I have respect for a legal system that is more concerned about being vindictive than being just.
When the state becomes vengefully bloodthirsty, what makes it more honorable or any less ruthless than a Terry Nichols or a Timothy McVeigh?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Ray Sanders' column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. (817) 390-7775 bobray@star-telegram.com
Personally i prefer the truth over vengence any day of the week.
Absolutely.
"Even for Nichols. And, yes, even for McVeigh. "
For the record - this writer is a kook.
If Fortier got 12 years for failing to tell the police of this plot, how many years should Kerry have received for failing to tell the police about the Vietnam Veterans Against the War plot to kill US Senators?
No doubt.
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